Container with rotary closure



p 1957 w. JACOBS ET AL 2,805,801

CONTAINER WITH ROTARY CLOSURE Filed Nov. 6, 1955 FIG.4.

FIG. I.

INVENTOR. WILLIAM JACOBS JOSEPH G. DARLING BY L Y.

ATTO RNLYs Patented Sept. 10, 1957 CONTAINER WITH ROTARY CLQSURE William Jacobs and .loseph S. Darling, New York, N. Y.

Application November 6, 1953, Serial No. 390,661

9 Claims. (Cl. 222-545) This invention relates to an improved combination container and dispenser, and in particular relates to a dispenser having improved means for attachment thereof to the container.

This invention is an improvement over our previous U. S. patent application, Ser. No. 290,488, filed May 28, 1952, for Dispenser With Frictionally Interfitting Parts, now U. S. Patent No. 2,744,666.

In one embodiment, the container has an upstanding, cylindrical, preferably substantially rigid neck. The container may be a toothpaste tube or other squeezable tube, or may be a rigid container. The interior bore of the neck of the container is preferably substantially in the shape of an inverted frustro-cone.

The dispenser is preferably made of a relatively flexible plastic material, such as polyethylene, and includes a top portion which overlies the rim of the neck and which has a depending central boss which is preferably substantially in the shape of an inverted frustro-cone. The dispenser also includes a depending outer cylindrical flange surrounding the boss and spaced therefrom.

The depending boss of the dispenser is adapted to be frictionally inserted within the bore of the neck of the container, with said outer flange fitting frictionally round the outer face of said neck. Optionally and preferably, said neck and said outer wall have interfitting means to prevent accidental separation of the dispenser from the container.

The said boss of the dispenser is provided with a closure piece or valve similar to that shown in the aforementioned prior patent application. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the boss has a hollow, part-cylindrical opening whose axis extends transversely to the common axis of the dispenser and container, and which communicates through appropriate additional openings in the dispenser with the top and bottom faces of the dispenser. Said opening serves as a valve seat. The valve is substantially in the form of a solid cylinder and is adapted to be force-fitted through the top dispenser opening into said valve seat. The valve is turnable about the axis of said valve seat and is provided with a radially upwardly extending finger piece for such turning. The valve has at least one through-and-through diametrical opening which registers with both of said additional openings in one turned or dispensing position of the valve, and which is out of registration with at least one of said additional openings in another turned or closing position of the valve.

An important feature of the above construction is that the valve may be inserted in the central portion of the dispenser prior to assembling the dispenser with the container. The flexibility of the material of which the dispenser is made makes it easy to insert the valve therein. However, when the dispenser is mounted upon the container, the container neck rigidifies the structure and makes withdrawal of the valve difiicult. Furthermore, the interfitting conical 'shapes of the neck'bore and of the boss make possible an excellent frictional interfit between these parts. The boss is compressed between the valve and the neck, thereby ensuring a tight fit of the valve in its seat.

It will be apparent that this improved dispenser is particularly suitable for use in dispensing pastes, as well as powder and liquids. The use of a screw cap is eliminated and the valve may be easily manipulated by the fingers of the user. Furthermore, the valve has clearly defined opening and closing positions, which eliminates the need for visual inspection to determine whether the dispenser is completely closed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description, in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which preferred embodiments are disclosed.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the dispenser in accordance with our invention, .and prior to mounting same upon a container.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section through a combination container and dispenser in accordance with our invention, said container being shown partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of said improved combination container and dispenser.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified dispenser.

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section of the modified dispenser mounted upon a modified container, said container being partly broken away.

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section of the combination container and dispenser shown in Fig. 5.

Upon reference to the drawings in detail, and in particular to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, it will be noted that they show a container 10 having an upstanding neck 11. Said container 11) may be of the collapsible type commonly used for dispensing paste or the like, or may optionally be rigid. For example, container 10 may be a tube for holding toothpaste.

Said neck 11 is preferably made of a substantially rigid material, but may optionally be made of a flexible and resilient material, such as polyethylene. Said neck 11 has a substantially cylindrical outer peripheral face 12 and an annular upper rim 13. Said outer peripheral face 12 optionally has a circumferentially extending groove 14 near the base thereof.

Neck 11 has a through-and-through axially extending bore 15 which is preferably of decreasing diameter from top to bottom. The peripheral wall of said bore 15 is preferably substantially in the shape of an inverted frustro-cone when container 10 is upright, as shown in the drawings.

Dispenser 16, which is adapted to be mounted on neck 11, is preferably molded in one piece from a material which is somewhat flexible and resilient, such as polyethylene.

Said dispenser 16 includes a top portion in the form of a disk 17 which is adapted to overlie rim 13 of neck 11. Said top portion 17 has a central depending boss or insert member 18 which is adapted to be interfitted Within the, 'bore 15 of neck 11, and an outer depending circumferential flange 19 which is adapted to be fittedover the.

the bottom thereof. -On the lower face of disk 17 of dis 3 penser I6,'"bctss-1'8isspacetf'fnom flange 19 by an an- 1111111822.

Dispenser 16 has a top opening 23 which is located radially inwardly of, annulus 27. Said opening 23 come mlmicates"atits' bottomwitlr'a cavity z tindispenser 16; said cavity 24extending downwardly into boss "1'8 to a pointsonrewhat above the bottom face 25 thereof. Boss 18 has an axial bore 26 which extends upwardly fromsaid lower" face 25 and -who'se'upper end communicates with cavity 24'at thebottomthereof.

-Said cavity 24isoptionally in the shape of a part-cylmodem-with, its axis extending-transversely to the axis ofdispenser'T6; In vertical' cross-sec tion', as shown in-Fig. 2 ,"thewall of c'avity 2'4 is in the shape of a major arc of a' circle; and is symmetrical with respect to the axis ofdispenser 16. V

' The 'end facesofopenings 23' are preferably coextensivewith the endfaces of'c'avity 24; 'Optionallyand preferably; the side" faces 27 of opening 23 slope downwardly and inwardly from the top of dispenser 16-. Optionally, said side faces 27 are substantially planar.

Valve 28, which is'adapted to bepositioned within cavity24-is preferably molded inone piece and is pref erably scmewhat more nearly rigid than dispenser 16. Optionally; valve 28 may be made of thesamematerial as'dispe'ns'er 16, the thickness of valve 28 imparting a sub-' stantial degree-of rigiditythereto.

"Valve 28 is preferably cylindrical in shape and. has a through-and-through diammetricall-y extending bore 29. Said valve 28' also has outwardly radially extending finger piece 30, the axis of said finger piece 30 being th setin'- a-counter-clockwise direction relative to the'axis-of bere-29, as takeir-in'Fig- 2.

The manner of assembly of theab'ove-described parts is as followsz Valve 28-is first'interfitted' with. dispenser 16. Valve 28"i's positioned above dispenser 16 with the axis of valve 28 substantially parallel to the axis ofcavity 24, with the peripheral face of said valve 28 resting upon the side faces 27 of opening 23 andwithfinger piece 30 uppermost. Said faces' 27 'actas camsurfaces. Valve 28 is pushed downwardly against said faces 27, and spreads said faces 27 apart until valve 28 passes through. the bottom of opening 23 and. into cavity 24, as shown 'in Figs. 2 and 3. The flexibility of dispenser '16 makes it .easy to spread the faces 27'apart-in order'ito insert valve 28into cavity 24, and' thelre'siliencyiof the'imateiial of. dispenser 16 en.- ables iacesi 27' toreturn .totheir normal positions after the inserti on' of. valve 28.

In the inserted position of valve 28, its peripheral wall. frictionally and vslidably abutstheside wall of cavity 24 and. thewend faces of valve 28 ftictionally and slidably abutthe end faces of cavity 24, so that valve 28.is turnableaboutthe axis of cavity 24. In said assembled position of valve 28, fingeripiece 30 extendslupwardly through opening 23 and protrudes above the upper face of dispenser -16.

' The respective side faces 2710f opening'2'3' serve asstops 7 to the na'ovcment of-finger piece 30 and hence of valve 28 in the respective clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. In the dispensing position of valve 28 shown in Fig. 2, in which finger base 30 abuts the left side face 27 of opening :23,'the axis of bore 29 is aligned. with the axis ofbore 26, and said bores register with eachother.- Also' the upper end of bore 29 registers with. opening 23. Accordingly, a throughand-through axial passage. is .provided through dispenser '16. V

It. will be:apparent that when valve 28 is turned in a clockwise direction from-its postion of Fig. 2 to its closing position in whichfingerpiece 30' abuts the other. side fact-.27 of'opening 23, the lower'end of-bore 29 is moved outof registration with'bore 26. As a result; there is no through-and-throughr-axial opening. through. dispenser 16, Preferably, :also, in saidlclosing position of valve 28, the

upper end of bore 29 is out of registration with opening 20 of boss 18 into frictional vinterfit with the peripheral face of bore 15, the

taper of said faces being substantially the same.

In the assembled position of. dispenser '16 relative to container 10, annulu 22 preferably rests upon rim 13, with flange 19' fn'ctionally abutting outer neck face 12, and with rib 21 positioned within groove 14. As a result, it is ditficult for dispenser 16 to become accidently separated from container 10, although dispenser 16 is optionally removable by snapping rib 21 out of groove 14 and moving dispenser 16 upwardly with respect to container 10; Optionally, boss 18*is' slightly =oversiz ed in (liameterrelative to'thebore'15 of'neck 11, to insure the frictional engagement" of the outer peripheral face 20 "of boss 18 with the peripheral face of bore 15.

In said assembled position of'dispenser 16 relativeto container 10,-the lower faceof boss 18'--is optionally spaced above the'lower face of dispenser '16, and the por tion of bore 15 below said face-25 is-optionally cylindrical;

Inthe fully assembled position of the parts, it is almost impossible to remove valve 28' from cavity 24, because the interposition of neck 11- between boss-18 andiflange'l9 substantially diminishes the extent of outward movement of side faces 27 .of opening 23';

It will be apparent that with the parts fully assembled;

' the lowenend-of bore 26communicateswith'the interior pense'the contents; of container 10;. When finger piece.

30 -abuts the other fa'ce 27, valve 28ieifecti'vely sealsthe contents of container 10 from removal therefrom.

It will be apparentlthat by proper dimensioning of.

the parts,'it.is possible to obtain a tighter fit between valve 28 and cavity 24,v after insertion of boss 18 Within neck 11,. than is possible by thexmere insertion. ofvalve 28 within cavity 24.. Accordingly, in the closed-position of valve 28,-. anvetfective'seal is provided, both between boss 18 and neck bore 15 and between valve 28 and cavity 24. Said seal is improved when boss 18 is op-- tionally slightly oversized in .diameter'relative to bore 15.

.As previously .stated,: dispenser 16: is preferably made from. amaterial which is somewhat flexible and resilient, As a result, eveni if valve 28 is not perfectly seated. within cavity 24. of dispenser 16 prior to-the assembly of dispenser 16 with container 10, the forcible interfittingvof the dispenser'and the container results in a compression of boss 18 within neck bore 15, andhense results in a distortion of cavity 24-soas to cause a substantial conformity in shape between valve 28' and cavity 24.

Two possible modifications of theinvention are shown 7 in Figs. 4 to 6. .In Figs. 4 to 6, parts corresponding to the parts of Figs. 1 to 3 are respectively designated by the same numbers with the addition of the reference letter a.

As is shown in these views, neck 11a is provided on its outer peripheral face with a screw thread 9, and flange 19a. of dispenser 16a' is provided. on its inner peripheral face with a cooperating screw thread 31, As a result, boss 18a may be inserted within the bore of'neck 11a merely by screwing flange 19a on to said neck 11a.

As a further modification, valve 281; is substantially spherical in shape, and cavity 24a is substantially in the shape of a part sphere with the. top thereof .cut. away. Top opening 23a is substantially intheshape of an inverted frustro-cone. The manner of assembly of valve 28a with dispenser 16a is entirely analogous to the manner of assembly of valve 28 with dispenser 16.

In the modified valve Of Figs; 4 to 6, it. ispr'efera'bl'e.

29a to movement in a vertical plane during turning movement of valve 28a, in order to insure proper registration of bore 29a with bore 26a in the dispensing position of valve 28a. Optionally, therefore, the peripheral face of valve 28a is provided with a groove 32 extending in a counter-clockwise direction from finger piece 30a toward the lower end of bore 29a, but terminating before reaching said bore 29a. Correspondingly, the face of cavity 24a is provided with an inwardly extending rib 33 located in a vertical plane and extending in a counter-clockwise direction from the top of said cavity 240.

Rib 33 is substantially shorter than groove 32 and rides frictionally therein during turning movement of valve 28a. As a result of the provision of rib 33 and groove 32, valve 28a is only turnable about an axis which is transverse to the axis of dispenser 16a, so that bore 29a always registers with bore 26a in the dispensing position of finger piece 30a.

It will be apparent that the screw threads of Figs. 4 to 6 may be interchanged with the engaging means 14, 21 of Figs. 1 to 3.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed and various possible changes, omissions and advantages have been indicated, it will be apparent that various other changes, omissions and advantages may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A dispensing device comprising a container having a neck which has a through-and-through bore, a valve attachment made of flexible and resilient material and comprising a disk adapted to overlie the rim of said neck and having a central opening, a central boss depending from said disk and adapted to be inserted within said neck, said boss having an internal valve seat with a top opening communicating with said disk opening and a bottom opening communicating with the bottom of said boss, 21 valve frictionally and turnably seated within said valve seat, said valve having a through bore providing communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in one turned position of said valve and being out of said communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in another turned position thereof, a peripheral flange depending from said disk and adapted to be mounted upon the outer wall of said neck, and cooperating means carried by said outer wall of said neck and said peripheral flange for locking said flange upon said neck, said disk being adapted to be held frictionally against said rim and said boss being adapted to be held fiictionally within said neck when said flange is locked upon said neck.

2. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 1, the outer peripheral face of said neck and the inner face of said flange being respectively cooperatingly screwthreaded to serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

3. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 1, said outer peripheral face of said neck having a circumferential groove and said flange having an inner circumferential rib which is adapted to fit within said groove, whereby said rim and said groove serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

4. A dispensing device comprising a container having a neck which has a through-and-through bore which is generally of inverted frustro-conical shape, a valve attachment made of flexible and resilient material and comprising a disk adapted to overlie the rim of said neck and having a central opening, a central boss depending from said disk and having an outer peripheral surface which is generally of inverted frustro-conical shape and which is adapted to be inserted within said neck, said boss being normally slightly oversized in diameter relative to the bore of said neck, said boss having an internal valve seat with a top opening communicating with said disk opening and a bottom opening communicating with the bottom of said boss, a valve seated within said valve seat and normally fitting somewhat loosely and turnably therein, said valve having a through bore providing communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in one turned position of said valve and being out of said communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in another turned position thereof, a peripheral flange depending from said disk and adapted to be mounted upon the outer wall of said neck, and cooperating means carried by said outer wall of said neck and said peripheral flange for locking said flange upon said neck, said disk being adapted to be thereby held frictionally against said rim, said boss being adapted to be thereby held frictionally and compressibly force-fitted within said neck, said valve being adapted to be thereby frictionally and turnably held within said valve seat as a result of the compression of said boss.

5. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 4, the outer peripheral face of said neck and the inner face of said flange being respectively cooperatingly screwthreaded to serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

6. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 4, said outer peripheral face of said neck having a circumferential groove and said flange having an inner circumferential rib which is adapted to fit within said groove, whereby said rim and said groove serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

7. A dispensing device comprising a container having a neck which has a downwardly tapered, through-andthrough bore, a valve attachment made of flexible and resilient material and comprising a disk adapted to overlie the rim of said neck and having a central opening, a central, downwardly tapered boss depending from said disk and adapted to be inserted within said neck, said boss being normally slightly oversized in diameter relative to said neck bore, said boss having an internal valve seat with a top opening communicating with said disk opening and a bottom opening communicating with the bottom of said boss, 21 valve frictionally and turnably seated within said valve seat, said valve having a through bore providing communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in one turned position of said valve and being out of said communication between said top opening and said bottom opening in another turned position thereof, a peripheral flange depending from said disk and adapted to be mounted upon the outer wall of said neck, and cooperating means carried by said outer wall of said neck and said peripheral flange for locking said flange upon said neck, said disk being adapted to be held frictionally against said rim and said boss being adapted to be held frictionally Within said neck when said flange is locked upon said neck.

8. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 7, the outer peripheral face of said neck and the inner face of said flange being respectively cooperatingly screwthreaded to serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

9. A dispensing device in accordance with claim 7, said outer peripheral face of said neck having a circumferential groove and said flange having an inner circumferential rib which is adapted to fit within said groove, whereby said rim and said groove serve as said means for locking said flange upon said neck.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,747,550 Klimburg Feb. 18, 1930 2,014,066 Flagg Sept. 10, 1935 2,126,815 Rest Aug. 16, 1938 2,209,050 Church July 23, 1940 

